Archos 2 MP3 player officially announced

Online retailer Amazon.com revealed details regarding the Archos 2 MP3 player from Archos, designed to take on the most popular MP3 players on the market.

The Archos 2 is designed to battle the Apple iPod Nano and Microsoft Zune MP3 players, but offers 8GB storage at a fraction of the price: $59.99.  It’s a rather mundane budget MP3 player that lacks FM radio, but does include MP3, WMA support, video playback, a photo viewer, and voice-recording ability.  The device also has a 1.8-inch screen, but it isn’t overly impressive when compared to other products.

Unless you’re desperately trying to save money, both the Nano and Zune are better MP3 players that have additional features, a more polished casing, and more company support in case problems arise.  I’d honestly recommend — unless times are extremely tight — to purchase an MP3 player from a more established company.

The Archos 2 will be available with 8GB storage capacity in white or black, but Amazon doesn’t have a release date published.  Customers who buy the device through Amazon also get $5 worth of MP3 downloads through the Amazon MP3 store.

There have been unconfirmed rumors of an Archos 2 16GB model for Europe, along with an Archos 4 device with a 4-in. screen and 32GB storage space.  It should be interesting to see if these products make it to the U.S., assuming they’re released at all.